7 Pro Tips on How To Nurture Customer Relationships Online

Professional and business relationships can seem so transitory and transactional, especially the relationship between a business and its customers. However, this is only true if you’re just in it for the money. Unless you make the decision as a business to prioritize the overall experience of each interaction, there’s no chance to foster customer relationships. It all sounds pretty intimidating, right? You’ll be glad to know it’s not really all that complicated.

All you need is a little adjustment to how you interact with customers, inject a little personality in them and connect with clients on a personal level. Your loyal customers – the ones that keep coming back and supporting your brand – are your best assets when you want to make sure that your company succeeds and grows in the industry.

That’s why building and maintaining client relationships is necessary. If you’re running out of ideas or unsure about where to start on how to nurture client relationships, we’re happy to provide you with the top tips that you can try. The good news is that they’re already probably part of your existing business practices.

Building and maintaining relationships with new and loyal clients

Longtime business owners recognize how challenging it can be to establish a relationship with new customers and nurture customer relationships with devoted ones. Marketing costs alone can break the bank. There’s also training needs for staff and product innovations required for continued development. However, the best marketing tool any business will be lucky to have is a happy and faithful customer.

For new business owners and those who try to get startups off the ground, marketing and lead-generation budgets trump every other expenditure. You have to get your people out in the world to not only circulate the news about your new company but also to invite potential customers to try your products and/or services. We’d like to share some of our best tips with you to propel your business to the top and give your teams a few ideas for improvement.

1. Know your clients and customers

For most companies, the KYC process is mandatory. For the purposes of building and maintaining client relationships, however, we mean a different kind of knowing your customers. Apart from knowing their needs and pain points, take part in a little bit of small talk to not only build rapport but also to extract small but important details about what can make them come back to your brand.

Bowling them over will be so much easier if you know your clients and customers. Apart from small talk, you can use surveys and short questionnaires, especially when you’re in the midst of conceptualizing or launching a new marketing initiative, product, or service. Use their input to further develop the processes and procedures already in place in your company. After all, your priority is making them happy in the first place.

2. Customize each conversation to nurture customer relationships

In this day and age of chatbots and AI, it’s a lot easier to employ the use of hotkeys to send out canned messages than it is to try and craft a response for each and every customer interaction. However, have you ever tried one of those automated messaging services? How about reaching out to customer service for any company and then comparing one response with another and seeing the templated parts? How did that make you feel?

Customizing your replies to customers takes some time and practice, but it’s considered to be the first meaningful step if you’re wondering how to nurture client relationships. Doing this allows you to relate to the customer on a more personal level. Building rapport with them and empathizing creates a sense of camaraderie, a feeling of “I’ve been there, too, and I know how it feels”. This elevates your conversations from purely business to one that can bond your clients to you by showing them that you understand their needs and challenges, and are prepared to answer those with your products and services.

3. Always aim for a positive approach

No one likes to deliver bad news or turn down requests, but processes and procedures within the company can sometimes limit your options when it comes to resolving your customers’ issues. The good news is that we’re almost never without a fallback, a sort of way to troubleshoot any problematic scenario to be able to make our clients happy. All you need to do is think outside of the box and thoroughly research your policies for a workaround.

You can say: “As much as we would like to, we are unable to grant your request…” and then take the sting out of an otherwise disappointing circumstance by following up with, “However, we’re happy to recommend…” and then offer your options. For example, your customer is asking for a discount because their delivery was late or something went slightly askew with their order, but you don’t have any discounts to offer. You can, instead, offer them free shipping on their next order. Make sure to check with superiors before offering something because once you put it out there, it’s going to be more difficult to take it back. An attempt to do so can be detrimental to your company’s integrity. Even if you’re deviating slightly from your SOP (standard operating procedures), get your manager’s approval first so you’ll have someone to vouch for you when your decision is called into question.

Whoever you’re talking to and regardless of their temperament, don’t forget to use your magic words like please and thank you. If your customer is getting agitated, diffuse the situation with the use of a calming tone and carefully-chosen words. If your client is voicing their disappointment or frustrations, thank them for their feedback, assure them that their viewpoints will be forwarded to management, and divert their attention to another course of action. Keep in mind that your purpose is to end each interaction on a positive note.

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4. Try to exceed customer expectations

Delivering what you advertise is considered the bare minimum. Going above and beyond what your clients expect of you shows them you’re able to do so much more for them to not just get the job done but to nurture customer relationships. To consumers, this makes your business worthy of their money, making them want to come back again and again.

Remember, those happy customers can also be your best marketing campaign. If they’re pleased with you and your products or services, they can be sure to let friends and family know about it. As with any other relationship, you don’t even have to go to grand lengths to gladden your customers.

Here are some things you can do: Don’t make them wait too long for the resolutions to their issues Make your interactions more personalized Take note of their preferences and past concerns Go out of your way to build rapport Pay attention to their social media mentions as well as comments and acknowledge them in a timely manner

5. Maintain honesty, sincerity, and integrity

There’s nothing worse than being found out after you’ve omitted the truth from clients and customers. The feeling of betrayal can turn them away in a flash and cause detriment to your business. Just as happy customers can be expected to spread glowing reviews about your company by word of mouth, unhappy clients can also do considerable damage to your following and brand reputation.

If there’s something wrong or you forgot, it’s best to be upfront. Face the problem and address them right then. Your clients and customers will respect you more for your honesty. Believe it or not, customers know when you’re lying to them or keeping something from them. They can also tell if you’re being condescending or patronizing. Sincerity in every communication is the best policy. Regardless of the day you’re having, shrug it off so you’ll be in the best shape and mental space to converse with clients.

It’s not only proper for the sake of your business, but it’s also polite to be sincere and kind at all times. Lastly, integrity – it’s the one thing most consumers complain is missing from companies nowadays. It can also be what sets your business apart from the rest. Be respectful when it comes to other people’s time and money, honor your promises to customers, do what it is you said you would do, and provide them with faultless products and services at every opportunity.

6. Reward customer loyalty and engagement

Taking note of returning customers and contacting them for promos, discounts, and contests is another way to nurture customer relationships. Use specific language to make them feel even more valued, such words as exclusive, special and private, or select. If you’re able to, customize discount codes by using their names and give them the option to share these tailor-made codes with their friends and family as referrals.

Another route that you can take to show your customers how much you appreciate their continued trust and patronage is featuring them on your social media platforms or giving them a shoutout from time to time. Engage with them whenever they like or comment on your posts and delight them with special mentions here and there. One more thing that can aid you in building and maintaining client relationships is creating a separate catalog of waitlists, first-time and one-time customers.

For example, you can entice those on your waitlist to place their orders now by giving them free shipping on their first order. You can use the same free shipping promotion to thank first-time customers or invite past customers to come back.

7. Provide multi-channel support round-the-clock

Problems or issues with products and/or services cannot be scheduled. They arise anytime, so you have to be ready to be there for your clients and customers. For some businesses, aftercare is not a strong focus, and this is how you can allow your brand to shine among the rest.

Invest in reliable software that will give you the capabilities to provide your customers with 24/7 support whether they need you. If they’re not keen on chatting with someone, calling a helpline, or waiting for a reply email, build a self-help menu or knowledgebase for them to access. More crucial than actually providing constant assistance is assuring clients and customers that your channels for communication are always open to them.

Nurture customer relationships by having their backs, ready to answer whatever question they may have and to provide anything they need regardless of the time of day. This gives them a sense of security in your guaranteed reliability.

How to build and nurture professional relationships with Bitrix24

You can only hope to be able to get a good grasp of how to nurture client relationships and how to build and nurture professional relationships without the proper tools. Bitrix24 offers a smorgasbord of solutions for your every need. We will help you every step of the way as you create and nurture customer relationships. Schedule a demo today to get a full tour of all the software aids that we have available for your business.

Carving a niche in the industry, winning customers, and establishing a reputable brand is every startup visionary’s dream. Integrate Bitrix24’s dependable tools with your practical customer support protocols and well-built marketing strategies for an infallible approach to nurturing client relationships.

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